Freshmen phenoms shine in a crucial win for the Rams at San Jose State

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Thanks to a pair of huge performances from two of the youngest players on the team, Colorado State men’s basketball was able to hold off a resilient San Jose State squad 81-70 on the road Saturday afternoon.

In the crucial road victory, CSU’s third of the season, the Rams (11-7, 2-3) were once again led by the freshmen duo of David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens.

Roddy, who has officially cemented his role as a starter for this young team, finished with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. The 6-foot-5 power forward was a force in the paint and consistently displayed nice touch off the glass.

Although Roddy only had one assist, it was arguably the best highlight from the contest — after making a steal just in front of the baseline, he was able to show off his football background by hitting Stevens on the move for an easy easy layup on the opposite end of the floor.

Stevens also scored 21 points in the win. What’s more, though, he dropped 21 by finishing an efficient 6-of-10 from the field and making all seven of his free throw attempts.

Really, there wasn’t anything in the game that Stevens did not do well. He showed no hesitation to put the ball on the floor and attack the hoop, or knock down an open jump shot — but what really stood out was his ability to facilitate and create for others — Stevens led the Rams with seven assists and consistently made an effort to advance the basketball to an open teammate.

With how well both Roddy and Stevens played on Saturday, it did not take a lot of support from the rest of the starting lineup.

Nico Carvacho pulled down a team-high 16 rebounds but was held scoreless in the second half primarily because he struggled to knock down free throws (0-of-4). In total, Carvacho finished with six points and five turnovers in what was a weird day for the senior center.

Adam Thistlewood, who returned to the floor for the first time since spraining his ankle in the win over Tulsa, was able to play 26 minutes. The sophomore forward from Golden, Colo., only finished with six points but it was good to see him out there and moving well.

Finally, Kendle Moore scored eight points and dished out four assists as well. While it was a relatively quiet scoring day for the sophomore guard, Moore did finish with the second-most defensive rebounds on the team with five. More importantly, Moore recorded zero turnovers and had two steals of his own in 31 minutes of action.

Coming off the bench, John Tonje was able to spark the Rams from 3-point land. The freshman guard only played 12 minutes but made the most of them by hitting 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc. Considering the rest of the team finished 5-of-19 from 3-point range, Tonje’s strong showing may earn him some more opportunities in upcoming matchups.

All things considered, this was a solid team victory for the Rams — especially considering both New Mexico and Nevada recently lost at SJSU.

The Spartans (6-12, 2-4) may not be the most talented team in the world but they play extremely hard and make opponents earn it on their home floor. After allowing the Spartans to tie the game late (64-64), the Rams very well could have allowed SJSU to take the late momentum and steal the win. Instead, though, CSU responded with an 8-0 run and ultimately outscored SJSU by 11 in the final minutes.

Moving forward, the Rams have an opportunity to build off this performance and work their way up the league standings. As we have seen in recent weeks, the Mountain West is pretty wide open below San Diego State and anyone is truly capable of beating anyone. After dropping the first three conference games of the season, the Rams can get right back in the thick of things with a couple of more January wins.